Know the 5 stocks India’s Warren Buffetts are hoarding

One who draws his/her own path, keeping the market noise aside. The second is who follows and tries to emulate the first type.

Although millions of investors may fall into the second category, there are very few in the first bracket.

So, it is not unusual for the masses to follow the first type of investors, who have earned the title of “India’s Warren Buffett” for their smart investment strategies and some chart-breaking.

These Indian Warren Buffetts are the ones who are known widely for their value investing approach and long-term vision. When they pick stocks, it sends the investor circles and Whatsapp groups in an overclocking mode.

So, it makes sense to know about the stocks these Indian Warren Buffets are betting big on, especially now that the Sensex is continuing its bullish run.

These Indian Warren Buffetts have put in big monies in some companies which they believe will probably see substantial future growth.

Their exposure to these stocks reflects their confidence in the companies’ fundamentals, making it lucrative for retail investors looking to emulate their actions.

Here are five stocks that have the maximum exposure in these Indian Warren Buffett portfolios.

For more such in-depth analyses, read Profit Pulse

Titan Company Ltd

A joint venture between the Tata Group and TIDCO which was launched in 1984, the Titan Company is now one of India’s most respected lifestyle brands. Rekha Jhunjhunwala holds share of this company worth ₹16,096 crore.

Known widely for trusted names like Fastrack, Skinn, Titan Eye+, Sonata, and Tanishq, the company reserves a dominant position in the watches, jewellery, and eyewear markets.

The company expanded internationally in FY23 with six new stores in the UAE, another store in Singapore and two brand new stores in the US, marking a total of 14 stores internationally.

Titan is also looking to expand Tanishq’s presence from 265 towns to 300 towns in the next couple of years.

Currently, the company’s shares are trading at ₹3,723, which is almost a 250% jump over the last five years.

Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) grew at a CAGR of 22% from ₹1,994 crore in FY2019 to ₹5,292 crore in FY2024.

The profit after tax for the year ended March 2024 was ₹3,496 crore, with a compounded profit growth of 20% over the last five years.

If you look at valuations, Titan Company Ltd is trading at a price to earnings (PE) multiple of 96x, which might seem a bit high. However, the median PE for the last 10 years has been 72x.

Apart from Rekha Jhunjhunwala, the Life Insurance Corp. of India and SBI Nifty 50 ETF also hold 2.17% and 1.53% equity in Titan.

Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd

Next up is a company in which Akash Bhansali’s holding is worth over ₹1,746 crore.

Gujarat Fluorochemicals, established in 2018 as a result of a demerger from GFL Ltd, is one of India’s leading producers of fluoro-polymers, fluoro-specialities, chemicals, and refrigerants.

Ranking among the top five global fluoropolymers manufacturers, exporting to Europe, the US, Japan, and Asia, the company is a part of the INOXGFL Group, a diversified conglomerate with 90-year legacy into specialty chemicals, fluoropolymers, gases, wind turbines, and renewables.

The Group boasts a market capitalization of approximately $5 billion with three listed entities, and has two manufacturing complexes in Dahej for the Fluoropolymers and Chemicals, another one in Ranjitnagar for Fluorospecialities and finally one in Morocco for Fluorspar Mining and Beneficiation.

Gujarat Fluorochemicals has grown sales at a compounded growth of 17% in the last three years and 9% in the last five years.

Currently, the price of the stock is ₹3,524. In 2019, the share price was around ₹720, implying a jump of 390%.

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The Ebitda for the year ended March 2019 was ₹788 crore and for the year ended March 2024, was 955 cr. Over the last five years, the Ebitda has grown at a CAGR of almost 4%.

The profit after tax was ₹435 crore at the end of March 2024, with a negative compounded growth of 19% over last five years.

As for valuations, Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd. is currently trading at a price-to-earnings multiple of about 113x, with a 10-year median PE of 36x.

Other than Akash Bhanshali, HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund, DSP Flexi Cap fund and the Life insurance Corp. hold stakes in the company.

Trent Ltd

The next entry on the list is a company where Radhakishan Damani holds shares worth ₹2,902 crore through Derive Trading And Resorts Private Ltd.

Trent Ltd., founded in 1952 and headquartered in Mumbai, is a Tata Group company with approximately 37% group ownership (including 32.45% held by Tata Sons Pvt Ltd as of March 2024).

Its flagship brand, Westside, has 108 stores offering a wide range of products like clothing for men, women, and children, footwear, cosmetics, accessories, and household items.

The company has expanded into the hypermarket and convenience store sector with its Star brand, selling food staples, health and beauty products, fresh produce, and home furnishings. Their network includes 42 Star Daily stores.

Trent also manages the Landmark chain, which specializes in books, music, toys, sports merchandise, and tech accessories across five independent stores.

In FY24, the company saw a 50% YoY revenue growth with a 16% Operating Profit Margin, driven by the Zudio store expansion. Zudio has 545 stores across 164 cities, spread over 7,000-10,000 sq. ft. 203 stores were added in FY24.

The share price for Trent is currently trading at ₹7,168. If we look at the 5-year growth, the stock has seen a whopping jump of over 1,425%.

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The company’s sales have grown at a compounded growth rate of 68% in the last three years and 36% in the last five years.

The profit after tax was ₹95 crore for the year ending March 2019 and it was ₹1,477 core at the end of March 2024. Which makes the compounded profits growth of 57% over last five years.

As of March 2019, the Ebitda was ₹241 crore, which at March 2024 was ₹1,971 crore, a 52% CAGR.

As for valuations, Trent Ltd. is trading at a very high price-to-earnings multiple of 203x. The 10-year median PE is also high, at 164x.

SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd and Axis Midcap Fund also hold stakes in Trent’s total equity, besides Radhakishan Damani.

R Systems International Ltd

Bhavook Tripathi holds shares worth over ₹1,600 crore in R Systems International Ltd.

This is a global technology services provider specializing in digital transformation, offering solutions in product engineering, cloud enablement, quality assurance testing, and digital platforms.

It has a very strong global presence spanning across the US, Canada, Romania, Japan, China, Singapore, and Poland. Through partnerships with giants like Microsoft, Google Cloud, and Oracle, the company serves over 220 active clients.

That, too, includes five $3+ million and 30 $1+ million accounts, along with a remarkable 85% client retention rate.

R Systems has reduced client concentration, with its top 10 clients contributing 24% of total revenues in CY2021, down from 32% in CY2019, demonstrating a broadening client base and reduced dependency on key accounts.

Five years ago, the share price of R Systems was ₹40. Currently the share price is ₹509, which is almost a 1,200% growth in this span.

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The company has delivered a compounded sales growth of 24% in the last three years and 19% in the last five years.

The Ebitda for the year ended December 2019 was ₹73 crore and for the year ended December 2023, it was ₹252 crore. In these five years Ebitda grew at a CAGR of 36%.

For the year ended December 2023 the profit after tax was ₹140 crore, with a compounded profit growth of 22% over last five years.

R Systems is trading at a price to earnings multiple of 42x currently, with a median PE for the last 10 years of 18x.

Apart from Tripathi, Clarus Capital I holds a 1.08% stake in R System Internation Ltd.

Choice International Ltd

Choice International Ltd, established in 1993 in Mumbai, is a financial services group offering a broad range of services like broking, investment banking, business advisory, and retail loan distribution.

Madhusudan Kela holds shares worth ₹926 crore in the company.

As of FY24, the company has a robust network of 115 offices, over 175 in-house tech experts, and over 38,000 business associates. It has a clientele exceeding 1 million, served by a team of over 4.9,000 across India. Its key clients list looks impressive with names like TVS, LIC, and NHPC.

The company operates through its 10 subsidiaries and has recently increased its authorized share capital from ₹201 crore to ₹225 crore to accommodate a preferential issue of warrants convertible into equity shares.

The compounded sales growth in the last three years for Choice is 63% and in the last five years it is 44%.

The share price has jumped an astonishing 5,600% in five years between its August 2019 price of ₹8 and its current day price of around ₹456.

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The Ebitda for the year ended March 2019 was ₹36 crore and for year ended March 2024, it was ₹225 crore. In the last five years Ebitda grew at a CAGR of about 44%.

Currently, Choice is trading at a price to earnings multiple of 66x. The median PE for the last 10 years, however, is 19x. What is worth noting is that even though the company has reported repeated profits, it does not pay any dividends.

The profit after tax for the year ending March 2024 was ₹131 crore.

Jitendra Kumar Bhagat holds 1.30% of the equity apart from Madhusudan Kela. Foreign institutional investors like Genesis Grand General Trading L.L.C, Scoutbit General Trading LLC and Bnp Paribas Financial Markets – Odi also hold equity in the company.

The Golden Quintlet?

Today we explored five stocks that some of the most looked upon super investors of India have maximum exposure to.

These stocks are from varied industries ranging from retail to IT and finance. These are stocks that the Warren Buffetts of India have high conviction in. The numbers look interesting and worth diving into deeply for investors who want to emulate the investing style of the Warren Buffetts of India.

Why the super investors chose these stocks to put huge money in them is something they know the best, and they have done pretty well on such decisions, which is why we call them the Warren Buffetts of India.

To conclude, these are five stocks that the Warren Buffets of India have the large exposure to. Whether of not they break the bank of their investors is something for the future to tell but having them on the watchlists seems like a wise thing to do.

Note: The purpose of this article is only to share interesting charts, data points and thought-provoking opinions. It is NOT a recommendation. If you wish to consider an investment, you are strongly advised to consult your advisor. This article is strictly for educative purposes only.

Manvi Agarwal has been tracking the stock markets for about two decades now. During this period, for about 8 years, she was a financial analyst at a value-style fund managing money for international investors. Presently, she is devoting her time to writing on potentially ignored, and/or misunderstood investment opportunities in the Indian stock markets.

Disclosure: The writer or his dependents may or may not hold stocks mentioned here as per SEBI guidelines.